Leviticus 1:1

Introduction to the Sacrificial Regulations

1:1 Then the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him ¹  from the Meeting Tent: ² 

Leviticus 8:4-6

8:4 So Moses did just as the Lord commanded him, and the congregation assembled at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. 8:5 Then Moses said to the congregation: “This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.”

Clothing Aaron

8:6 So Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water.

Leviticus 8:20

8:20 Then he ³  cut the ram into parts, ⁴  and Moses offered the head, the parts, and the suet up in smoke,

Leviticus 8:36--9:1

8:36 So Aaron and his sons did all the things the Lord had commanded through ⁵  Moses.

Inauguration of Tabernacle Worship

9:1 On the eighth day ⁶  Moses summoned ⁷  Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel,

Leviticus 9:6

9:6 Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded you to do ⁸  so that the glory of the Lord may appear ⁹  to you.”

Leviticus 10:5

10:5 So they came near and carried them away in their tunics to a place outside the camp just as Moses had spoken.

Leviticus 21:24

21:24 So ¹⁰  Moses spoke these things ¹¹  to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites.

Leviticus 27:34

Final Colophon

27:34 These are the commandments which the Lord commanded Moses to tell the Israelites ¹²  at Mount Sinai.

[1:1]  ¹ tn Heb “And he (the Lord) called (וַיִּקְרָא, vayyiqra’) to Moses and the Lord spoke (וַיְדַבֵּר, vayÿdabber) to him from the tent of meeting.” The MT assumes “Lord” in the first clause but places it in the second clause (after “spoke”). This is somewhat awkward, especially in terms of English style; most English versions reverse this and place “Lord” in the first clause (right after “called”). The Syriac version does the same.

[1:1]  ² sn The second clause of v. 1, “and the Lord spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying,” introduces the following discourse. This is a standard introductory formula (see, e.g., Exod 20:1; 25:1; 31:1; etc.). The combination of the first and second clauses is, therefore, “bulky” because of the way they happen to be juxtaposed in this transitional verse (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 8). The first clause of v. 1 connects the book back to the end of the Book of Exodus while the second looks forward the ritual legislation that follows in Lev 1:2ff. There are two “Tents of Meeting”: the one that stood outside the camp (see, e.g., Exod 33:7) and the one that stood in the midst of the camp (Exod 40:2; Num 2:2ff) and served as the Lord’s residence until the construction of the temple in the days of Solomon (Exod 27:21; 29:4; 1 Kgs 8:4; 2 Chr 5:5, etc.; cf. 2 Sam 7:6). Exod 40:35 uses both “tabernacle” and “tent of meeting” to refer to the same tent: “Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” It is clear that “tent of meeting” in Lev 1:1 refers to the “tabernacle.” The latter term refers to the tent as a “residence,” while the former refers to it as a divinely appointed place of “meeting” between God and man (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:873-77 and 2:1130-34). This corresponds to the change in terms in Exod 40:35, where “tent of meeting” is used when referring to Moses’ inability to enter the tent, but “tabernacle” when referring to the Lord taking up residence there in the form of the glory cloud. The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 1:2 through 3:17, and encompasses the burnt, grain, and peace offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 4:1; 5:14; and 6:1 [5:20 HT] below.

[8:20]  ³ tn Again, Aaron probably cut the ram up into parts (v. 20a), but Moses presented them on the altar (v. 20b; cf. the note on v. 15 above).

[8:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “cut it into its parts.” One could translate here, “quartered it” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:133; cf. Lev 1:6, 12 above).

[8:36]  ⁵ tn Heb “by the hand of” (so KJV).

[9:1]  ⁷ sn This eighth day is the one after the seven days of ordination referred to in Lev 8:33-35.

[9:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “called to”; CEV, NLT “called together.”

[9:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “which the Lord commanded you shall/should do.”

[9:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and the glory of the Lord will appear,” but the construction with the simple vav (ו) plus the imperfect/jussive (וְיֵרָא, vÿyera’; literally, “and he will appear”) suggests purpose in this context, not just succession of events (i.e., “so that he might appear”).

[21:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And.” The Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) introduces a concluding statement for all the preceding material.

[21:24]  ¹² tn The words “these things” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:34]  ¹³ tn Most of the commentaries and English versions translate, “which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel.” The preposition אֶל (’el), however, does not usually mean “for.” In this book it is commonly used when the Lord commands Moses “to speak [un]to” a person or group of persons (see, e.g., Lev 1:2; 4:2, etc.). The translation “to tell” here reflects this pattern in the book of Leviticus.